Performance Evaluations with Andre Jones

Great topic and an excellent presenter.   

 Here is the to-do list that I walked away with:

1. Make sure the job description is up to date 
       (nope - last updated in 2009)

2. Develop a method for documenting employee performance 
     (Share good and bad feedback with the employee immediately, but also keep a folder for each employee with written notes/post-its/whatever of that verbal/written feedback.  Evaluations are much easier and less subjective when you have a documented year's worth of material to refer to.  Also very useful to have the employee share a monthly report of what they have accomplished to keep on file.)

3. Quarterly check-in on goals 
     (twice a year is good, but quarterly is better if you actually want to help the employee meet the goal!)

4. Tie job description to evaluation
     (makes sense - again, takes some of the subjectivity out of the process.  Keep in mind when the form asks about expectations, these are not the boss's expectations, they are the expectations of the job description.)



Marilyn Pontius articulated some of my other favorite bits very nicely.

 "I very much favor developing expectations in a dialog with the employees right away, paying particular attention to the “top three things you are responsible for”. Relating those top three things to job descriptions, performance, and to the bigger picture (the branch or department, and the library as a whole and its mission and goals) should make it easier to establish individual employee expectations and goals. I also really liked the idea of setting three major goals- one for the employee, one for the team (branch or department), and one for the library as a whole."